Capital Facts

Operating Engineers Union Local 150 is making good on its threat to back a Republican primary opponent against House Republican Leader Jim Durkin.

    Until recently, state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, had been passing separate nominating petitions for both her re-election to the Illinois House and a possible primary bid for governor against incumbent Republican Bruce Rauner.
     The ultra-conservative firebrand now says she has stopped passing re-election petitions.  But if a recent poll is any indication, Rep. Ives might want to keep her House re-election bid alive because the state’s Republican Party may not be nearly as divided as some GOP politicians have been claiming it is.

    Democrat JB Pritzker spent $21 million on his gubernatorial campaign through the end of September and recently opened his 10th campaign field office.  The billionaire spent more money on staff and consultants last quarter ($1.5 million) than any of his primary opponents raised.
    The spending appears to be paying off.  A new Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll of 1,154 likely Democratic primary voters has Pritzker with 39 percent of the vote, far ahead of the rest of the pack.

    If it seems to you that more legislators are announcing their retirements than in the past, you're right, at least about the House.
    With last week’s retirement announcement by Rep. David Harris, R-Arlington Heights, a total of 24 House members have either resigned or announced that they weren't running for re-election.
    That compares to 16 state Representatives who retired or resigned during the 99th General Assembly, a two-year period that ended last January.